**Thanksgiving Support/Rant Thread**

I think there might have been another thread about Thanksgiving, but how about one strictly for venting or advice-seeking for how to handle today?

Allow me to start! Ha!

I'm at my girlfriend's for the holiday, and her family knows about my eating habits, but I have buckled down the last few months. Her sister was asking me questions about it, SEEMINGLY semi-genuine. However, due to past experience, I was suspicious. Most people just want to argue and aren't sincerely curious. That seems to be the case here. I usually am not interested in discussing it because of past bad experience. But somehow I got sucked in this time.

The most contentious point, though there were quite a few, was grains. It's like as soon as people say "whole grains" this feeling of warm fuzziness washes over them. I raised the valid objections to grain as a healthy food, and noone had a counterargument except to get all upset. I am usually calm, but when people start getting slightly demeaning and irrational, I start to get a little angry. I'm just like, can ANYONE tell me something GOOD about grains above and beyond what you can get from another food source? And they are just like, well lots of people say it's good, which is of course a mindless response. Unfortunately, though the paleo/primal movement is growing, many are completely unaware of the latest nutritional and scientific developments and how utterly flawed the conventional wisdom is.

Then another sister said the classic just eat less and exercise more - so overly simplistic. And then said I sounded like bulimic friends of hers. Which I said was totally stupid. I eat PLENTY of food. I used to be over 200 pounds and am now 165. But I'm still at like 16% BF and trying to get lower. I just want to be healthy and now I understand how much I hurt my body in my past and am trying to make up for it.

Anyway, people's ignorance astounds me sometimes. And going with that, the inability of people to just say, "I don't know the answer." If I have been told something is true but am questioned on it, I'll readily admit, you know, I don't actually KNOW. That's how you grow and learn. However most people don't want to admit that. Ugh.

To the O.P.
Personally, I find it best to not participate in those particular conversations.
I like to listen to their nonsense while checking out their overweight psysiques, and laugh to myself.
When the subject changes, I'll join in if I'm interested.

Counterpuncher, I usually do as well, and usually have sufficient discipline. I guess I let my guard down and reminded myself why I never like to discuss it with most people. But yeah, I had some thoughts about some of the physiques of those involved, but whatever.

Another good one was how good the person felt eating a lot of carbs and exercising a lot (despite not being particularly lean). Sugar addict anyone?

I'll be eating a few grains today (no way around it with the food that will be on my family's table, alas, I'm the lone primal in a house of CW worshipers and they WON'T let me cook a thing). Will be doing my best to avoid the gluten though!

My father knows about my eating habits as well and asked me about the diet yesterday. When I told him about no grains he literally got all up in arms and said, "no grains? But you need to eat 8-10 servings a day! You're going to kill yourself!" He said that I am not gluten intolerant so I was foolish to avoid it, there was NO benefit to avoiding it unless you are a full on celiac. Yeah, we all know THAT one, right? I told him politely that I was the healthiest I'd ever been in my life, he could see that for himself, and to let the issue drop.

I will not subject myself to the ranting and raving of CW primal bashers. It's not worth it. I recommend you take the same tact the next time around.

I guess I'm lucky. The few people I have discussed it with may not buy it but they certainly don't argue or rant at me about it. I suppose it helps that there about 6 of us at work who eat this way and all of us are looking pretty good so there's the whole strength in #'s thing. And my mom eats pretty close to paleo herself though she eats a bit of grain every now and then but she looks good too. As far as today goes, when everyone else is stuffed, bloated, gassy and uncomfortable after gorging on too much food you'll be feeling fine. They won't appreciate it, but you'll have that inner smile! I will be avoiding my past favorites like stuffing and sugary yams today. Stomach can't handle that stuff anymore. I'm headed out to work anyway so won't be tempted by the table. Pork chop and veggie for me today.

I'm always astounded how anyone can be pissed off or angry about anything on Thanksgiving, considering it's supposed to be a day of gratitude.

Those conversations can be cut short pretty quickly just by saying, "let's just agree to disagree" and leave it at that. Doesn't matter what you eat, or what they eat. You both have plenty of food and that's something to be thankful for.

I usually just shut my mouth. I say "I don't eat grains or sugar, mainly because I've found they make me feel poorly" and leave it at that. If someone wants to argue with me about how I feel, that's their problem, not mine :P I figure if someone wants to learn, they'll ask more. If not, I'll leave it alone.

For Thanksgiving, my main goal was to be able to eat without worrying about it too much. We had two kitchens going for lunch. I made Primal friendly stuff--the turkey, mashed sweet potatoes, and an interesting little pizza crust recipe I found and tweaked to make breadsticks (with lots of parsley!) and some other goodies. No one made food in over excess, but there was plenty, and there was a VERY wide variety--the typical SAD stuff plus the stuff I made. The mashed sweet potatoes went over VERY well, people who hated sweet potatoes candied loved them mashed with some butter and salt.

I've never been tested for diabetes, but I do know that sugar makes me VERY thirsty, thirsty to the point that my sleep is disrupted because I wake up parched several times a night. People who know this understand. And I figure as long as I cook things for myself without asking someone to do it for me, I'm OK to go. If people want to lecture me on how I'm "missing" something from not eating 6-11 servings of grains a day (which is CRIMINAL IMO), I tune it out